-Frontline   Political parties flush with funds provided by corporate houses are winning over journalists, and some news organisations are creating packages for election coverage, making the phenomenon of ‘paid news' all pervasive. THE credibility of journalism and journalists has been greatly undermined by the scourge of cash for coverage, a much-abhorred sickness in the profession worldwide. News space on television, radio and newsprint is compromised with impunity with blatant advertising parading...

-The Hindustan Times Eight journalists were killed in India in 2013. This was a jump from the five killed in the preceding year, and three in 2011. If there were 74 instances of censorship in 2012, the following year saw 94 such instances - with the internet being the single biggest casualty of the clamp-down. Also, 19 journalists were attacked in the year. These are some of the findings of Free Speech...

-Tehelka     Survival International is an NGO that works for the welfare of indigenous tribal populations all over the world. Recently, it launched the Proud, Not Primitive campaign in India. Survival’s press officer Alice Bayer was in India to spread the word. Speaking to G Vishnu, she spells out what is wrong with the development versus tribal rights debate.  Edited Excerpts from an Interview * Tell us about the Proud, Not Primitive campaign? Government...

-NewsMobile.in   Suicide rates in India are among the highest in the world. With 187,000 suicides per year, one-fifth of all global suicides occur in India. Farmer suicides are often reported in the media and are subject to a great deal of political debate. A recent study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine indicated farmer suicides might be disproportionate to the population as whole, reporting rural suicide rates were twice...

-The United Nations While technological progress and innovative business models have expanded opportunities for freedom expression, they have also allowed for new threats to emerge in the form of Internet censorship, filtering, blocking, and surveillance, warns the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Freedom of expression is essential to dignity, dialogue, democracy and sustainable development," said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, appealing for renewed commitment to support press freedom at the...